Meet MiP: Taste of IT Robot Giveaway

One of our featured items at this year’s Taste of IT is a giveaway of a MiP robot toy. Taste of IT conference is hosted by Technology First. The conference is on November 18, 2015 at the Sinclair Community College Ponitz Center in Dayton, Ohio. Taste of IT represents Technology First’s biggest conference of the year. Many attendees have an opportunity to experience MiP in action at the AfidenceIT booth.

MIP WORKS LIKE A SEGWAY

MiP is a small robot that plays games, dances to music, and can be controlled with a smartphone app. It’s a balancing robot, which works much like a Segway. On MiP’s left and right hips are powered wheels. MiP balances front and back, much like someone riding a unicycle. In fact, when waiting for you to have it do something, MiP will sway from front to back, maintaining balance.

MiP comes in black and white colors. Different colors enable you to tell your MiP apart during the boxing and laser tag games. In the boxing game, the MiPs try to bump into each other with their arms, which are poseable but are not powered. MiP can’t move its arms by itself. In laser tag mode, MiP uses a small LED light and the infrared detector in its head to shoot and register hits from the opponent. With just a single MiP, there are several modes and games in which the robot can be used. Changing modes is done by turning MiP on, then rotating the left wheel forward and backward.

MIP TALKS AND EXPLORES

The speech system is a cute robotic voice that can be a little hard to understand sometimes. But, there are a limited number of things it says, so it’s pretty easy to figure out. MiP can be set to explore an area, to follow its owner around a room, and to play an escape game. In this game, the MiP tries to run away from you, and you step in front of it or block its path with your hand. MiP will turn and run in a different direction when blocked, so it’s kind of like a game of no-contact tag. Finally, there is a dancing mode where you can play music and MiP will dance to the beat. When paired via Bluetooth to a cell phone, the app provides a console that will allow you to drive MiP around like a radio-controlled toy. Also, the app enables you to draw a pathway on the screen for MiP to follow. You can feed MiP little cans that trigger cute tricks.

Like many similar toys and robots, MiP does not have any way of detecting edges. If you use it on a tabletop you have to either stack books around the edges to create a barrier that its infrared sensors can see, or be quick to catch it. It will scoot right off a tabletop and onto the floor without such preparation.

Finally, MiP comes with a small tray that can be attached to allow it to carry small items. It can play a balancing game where you can stack items on the tray to see how much it can keep balanced.

Do you plan on attending the Taste of IT conference? If yes, stop by the AfidenceIT booth to see MiP in action. You may even be a MiP winner!